Environment

  A township resident was among 12 members of Leadership Somerset who created a rain garden at Exchange Field in Somerville. Fran Varacalli, who is also the township’s land preservation and management consultant, helped build the garden, which is designed to “intercept, treat and infiltrate rain water at the source, before it become runoff,” according to Leadership Somerset documents. The …

The Rutgers Preparatory School on Easton Avenue will receive an award from the township’s Environmental Commission for the school’s “many contributions to the environment of Franklin Township.” The school was notified that it would receive the commission’s “Organization Environmental Stewardship Award” in an Oct. 27 letter, according to a press release. The award is scheduled to be presented at the Nov. …

The Somerset County pilot single-stream recycling program that was set to begin in the township this month has been put on hold. John Kendzulak, Somerset County’s recycling superintendent, said that no bids were received this summer for the program, so “(t)he County is currently evaluating the market for single stream recycling and has made a decision to not rebid this …

Faced with public backlash over plans for Middlebush Park and the proposed Catalpa Park, the township’s Open Space Advisory Committee on Sept. 16 voted to recommend a one-year moratorium on new township-financed park development. Although the resolution passed by the committee references parks, the original motion was made in the context of athletic fields paid for by the township’s Open Space Trust Fund. …

An ordinance designed to save water by limiting how some residents can water their lawns was introduced at the Township Council’s Aug. 12 meeting. The ordinance has been a pet project of Councilman Ted Chase (D-Ward 1) for several years. Chase thought the ordinance was going to be introduced in March, but objections brought by Deputy Mayor Brian Regan (D-At …

A plan by an Edison developer to remove 25 trees from a Hillcrest Avenue property drew the ire of the Environmental Commission at its Aug. 18 meeting. Developer Gregory Ginzberg wants to create three lots and build houses on two of them. His plan calls for the removal of about two dozen trees. That caught the commissioners’ attention; what irked …

A group of 35 volunteers from Catalent Pharma Solutions, Somerset, helped beautify a part of Colonial Park recently. The employees on July 23 spent the day spreading mulch along the Lois Howe Nature Trail and the Powder Mill Pond. The work was done in conjunction with Park Rangers and the Somerset County Park Commission’s horticultural staff.

A “garden party” was held July 19 in the perennial garden at Colonial Park. Hosted by the Somerset County Park Commission’s Horticultural Department, the “party” featured music, speakers and plant-related items for sale. Bruce Crawford, director of Rutgers Gardens, spoke about summer shrubbery; Stephen Kristoph, an adjunct professor at Rutgers University and proprietor of Kristoph Nursery, spoke about garden perennials and …

Four of the six trails at the Griggstown Native Grassland Preserve should be opened to bicyclists, a township advisory committee decided July 9. The Trails Advisory Committee voted 4-2 to recommend to the Open Space Advisory Committee that it vote to allow bicycling on the orange, yellow, brown and purple trails, located off Canal Road. Those trails total about four …

The township Trail Advisory Committee held its second observance of National Trails Day June 6 at the Griggstown Native Grassland Preserve off Canal Road. According to Fran Varacalli, the township’s land preservation and management consultant, the day included “tips from a local photographer, David Hartz,  on how to photograph natural landscapes; geo caching volunteer, Vince Caporossi,  was on hand to …